I've done a little fly fishing on the Wylie's stocked pond when I'd visit my grandparents in Charlotte, NC when I was like 10 and you'd think I'd be a fishing expert since there's a fly fishing named after me and all, but sadly that is not the case. But Dawn and I are anything if not undaunted learners up to any challenge. So we marched down to Fred Meyer and bought ourselves some WA State fishing licenses. I feel like I’m one beer drinking weekend away from asking my oldest brother (and bow hunter) to take me hunting, but luckily he’s in Charlotte and that make impulse hunting very unlikely to happen, whew.

Of course the real reason we bought fishing licenses was so we could buy more books and more toys! Did I mention we don’t know anything?

So first of the licensing is a bit of a daunting process there’s a lot of questions about what kind of fishing you want to do, do you want to crab, collect seaweed, use live humans as bait, on and on so we just bought the combo package which allows us to fish or trap anything that is legal to catch in both the salt and fresh water environs of Washington State. I’m not sure if we’re going to harvesting much seaweed, but you never know and at least this way we have the option. BTW, when seaweed gets all over my anchor rode does that count?

Next step is to fill the void between my ears about crabbing, shrimping, clamming and trolling in Puget Sound without being sucked into watching fishing competitions on TV. I say trolling because I assume what we’re going to want to do is drop the line over the side, sail along and hope we catch something.

How to Catch Shellfish: Along the Pacific Coast

The first two books by Charlie White are good light reads They explain the gear, what the different critters look and taste and like and how to catch ‘em. I especially like that he’s done some comparative analysis of different recreational traps and professional traps as well. The books are a little dated with cheesy cartoons from the mid 90’s, but the info you  need is in there. I read both of these in about an hour or so.

Saltwater Fishing Made Easy

Saltwater Fishing Made Easy by Martin Pollizotto is much thicker and more in depth mostly because the options are more limitless and confusing when it comes to fishing gear. I’ve not finished the book yet, but the author is attempting to lean towards what is common, reliable and practical verses what is exotic or high-end and possibly unnecessary for the average fisher’s needs. That’s is always helpful because I either tend to be a buyer of the least or most expensive thing depending on my buzz thrill from it and this helps me reign that in a bit.

I’ll share more when I decide what kind of gear we’re going to get. In the mean time if you have any recommendations on fishing shops or gear feel free to post a comment.